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Barchan dunes of the Kharga Depression, Western Desert, Egypt, have been assessed in terms of their morphometry, grain size, and migration rate using remote sensing and GIS techniques and field and laboratory work. Thirty-seven sites were chosen along the Kharga dune belt and subdivided into northern, central, and southern sectors. At each site, several barchans were subjected to morphometric measurements (length, width, height, length of eastern and western horns, and length of windward and leeward sides). The rate and direction of 160 barchans were also measured for the period between 2002 and 2018. Grain size analysis was carried out on sand samples taken from the crest of these dunes. Statistically, significant relationships have been found between the morphometric parameters, dune migration, and grain size attributes. The analysis of the morphology of the barchan dunes, their movement, and the nature of sedimentary materials provide essential information for assessing and evaluating their environmental hazards.

Background: Noncommunicable chronic diseases (NCDs) are multifaceted, and the health implications of the COVID-19 pandemic are far-reaching, especially for NCDs. Physical distancing and quarantine can lead to the poor management of NCDs because the visual tracking of them has been replaced with medical digital technology, that is, smartphone apps. This study aimed to explore medical digital technology applications for NCDs for follow-up during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The participants in this study were 400 adult patients with NCDs; they were selected by systematic random sampling. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. The study was conducted in the outpatient department of Yanbu General Hospital and primary-care health centers in Yanbu Al-Baher, Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The tools used in this study were a structured questionnaire to collect the sociodemographic characteristics of the patients and their health history, an NCD questionnaire to assess follow-up of the patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a medical digital technologies questionnaire to explore the medical digital technology applications. Results: The mean age of the patients was 47.32 ± 14.362 years, and 62.8% of them were female and 372 were male. Of the patients, 69.2% and 57.5% had been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and hypertension, respectively; 52.4% were followed up monthly, and 29.75% used medical digital technology applications such as Tabeby Online to monitor their health. Furthermore, 71.75% and 75.5% of the patients used the Sehhaty and Tawakkalna medical digital applications, respectively. Overall, 38.7% of the patients were satisfied with using medical digital technology applications used for follow-up during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: The study concluded that the services that use networks, smartphones, and medical digital technology applications on the Saudi Ministry of Health website and mobile applications to improve the quality of the health-care system, and that provide health services for noncommunicable or communicable diseases, are not effective. This is because the patients lack awareness of these services, with most of the chronic patients being elderly with lower levels of education and computer literacy.

The current study deals with textural, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of the barchan dune sands of Abu Muharak dune belts in the Kharga Depression. Abu Muharak is the longest dune belt in the Western Desert of Egypt. Sand samples from 37 sites were texturally, petrologically, and chemically analyzed. Our goals were to interpret the provenance of the sands in terms of grain size, petrology, and geochemistry and correlate these data with the proposed source such as Nubian sandstone, Pleistocene alluvial, and Holocene lacustrine sediments as well as ancient aeolian deposits exposed at the Kharga Depression. The present study concludes that the Moghra sandstone is the main source of the Abu Muharak dune belt with local contributions from Pleistocene alluvial and dune deposits as well as weathered Nubian sandstone in the Kharga Depression.

Identification of biomarkers is crucial in guiding the treatment decision and improving the future outcomes of DLBCL. The aim of the current study is to detect the biochemical and clinical impacts of miR-150 and miR-21 expression levels in DLBCL. Quantification of serum miR-150 and miR-21 expression levels by real-time PCR after micro-RNA extraction and RT-PCR. At a cutoff point of 2.3 for miR-21, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive, and negative predictive values for diagnosis of DLBCL were 98%, 90%, 90.7%, and 97.8%, respectively. At cut-off point (≤19.12) the sensitivity, specificity, the positive predictive and negative predictive values of miR-21 to discriminate stage IV vs stage II DLBCL patients were 68.42%, 80%, 86.7%%,and 57.1%, respectively. Serum miR-150 and serum miR-21 can be used as diagnostic markers for DLBCL patients, but miR-21 is more sensitive than miR-150. Serum miR-21 can be used as prognostic marker for DLBCL patients. It was more sensitive and more specific than miR-150.

Background: Anhedonia, is defined as reduced capacity to gain pleasure from pleasurable experiences, is a key symptom of major depression. Several studies had investigated anhedonia in schizophrenia and major depressive disorder, using different psychometric and radiological assessment tools with controversy results in either severity of anhedonia or radiological findings. The aim of this study was to differentiate the nature of the issue of anhedonia in schizophrenia versus major depressive disorder; from clinical and brain function part of view, and to study different variables in this regard. Methods: This study was carried on 60 participants who were divided into three groups: Group 1: 20 schizophrenic patients, diagnosed according to DSM-5. The symptoms of schizophrenic patients must include anhedonia as a main symptom, Group 2: 20 patients with major depressive disorder according to DSM-5 criteria, and anhedonia was one of their prominent symptoms, Group 3: 20 control subjects. Results: Our results revealed statically significant differences between participants as regards age of onset, occupational career. Statically significant differences were found between 3 groups. Most of patients in group 1 lacks the interest for social activities and intimate relationships. Statically significant Difference was found between patients in both groups compared to controls. Striatal activity (mainly caudate) was significantly diminished in group 2 (P value

Background Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are almost universally delayed in the acquisition of spoken language as primary means of communication so they tend to have restricted outcomes in terms of independence and integration. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a promising, emerging tool for the study (study and modulate excitability and plasticity, applied in single pulses to investigate corticospinal excitability, pairs of pulses to study intracortical inhibition and facilitation) and potential treatment of ASD. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of repetitive TMS in language progress in children with ASD. Results There was a statistically significant clinical improvement in patients receiving active TMS (group I) comparing baseline Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) assessment and after treatment (P ≤ 0.05). There was mild improvement with no significant difference between the patients receiving active TMS (group I) and those of sham TMS (group II), and both groups received language therapy as regard post-treatment CARS. There was significant difference in improvement between the two groups according to eye contact (P ≤ 0.05). There was significant improvement in response to examiner (P ≤ 0.05). There was mild improvement with no statistically significant difference in attention between the two groups. There was significant difference in improvement between the two groups according to active expressive language. There was no statistically significant difference in passive vocabulary between the two groups. Conclusion Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over left inferior frontal gyrus may be a safe and effective way of improving language of ASD. The joint application of rTMS and standard language therapy may lead to more rapid improvement in the language progress of children with ASD.

Background: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common and potentially debilitating disorder. Neuropsychological assessment provides unique complementary information that is critical for evaluating higher cortical abilities. This study aimed to assess the neuropsychological functions in OCD patients which can then point to the brain structures or pathways and to study the correlation between these assessments and different clinical variables. Methods: This cross-sectional case control study had included sixty patients who were divided into two groups, Group I: thirty OCD patients diagnosed by DSM-IV and Group II: thirty healthy controls who were recruited from the community, matched with patients’ age, gender, and education. Results: The age of onset in our study was 19.13 ± 0.35 years, the mean duration was 7.44 ± 3.88 years, 40% of the studied cases had severe OCD symptoms and 33.3% of them were compulsive cleaners. There was a high significant difference between the two groups regarding WCST in favor of the control group. There was a high significant difference between the two groups regarding ROCF where the control group showed better results than the OCD patients. Conclusions: Neuropsychological test performance remains an informative and objective means of investigation, especially when applied to psychiatric disorders. The executive functions in OCD patients were impaired in comparison to the normal study subjects.

Background: Thelifetime prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) is estimated to be around 3% in the general population. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are considered to be the primary treatment strategy of OCD in addition to psychotherapy. Unfortunately, current medications, augmentation strategies, and behavioral therapies fail to provide adequate benefits in many cases. A large percentage of patients (40-60%) do not show satisfactory response to the standard treatments, some of them experiencing a chronically deteriorating course, leading to marked interpersonal and occupational impairments. In recent years, non-invasive neuromodulatory techniques such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation have been increasingly studied as potential adjunct or alternative therapies for a wide range of neurological and psychiatric conditions including pain disorder, depression, and stroke rehabilitation and OCD. Aims: the aim of this work to evaluate rTMS as an augmentation strategy in treatment-resistant OCD, to test the potential value oflow frequency rTMS to SMA,orbitofrontal cortex and right DLPFC in the treatment of resistant OCD and to compare between the therapeutic values of applying the TMS coil to those different areas of the cortex. Patients and Methods: This study was carried out in Psychiatry, Neurology and Neurosurgery Center, Tanta University from September 2017 to November 2019. Eighty patients (52 females and 28 males) aging between 18 and 65 years underwent complete psychiatric evaluation, including full medical history, psychiatric and physical examination and diagnosed as having OCD accordingto DSM-5 with failure of at least two adequate therapeutic trials of SRIs. Results: Before rTMS sessions there was no statistical significant difference between the three active groups and the sham group regarding the scores onYale-Brown obsessive compulsive scale,Hamilton anxiety rating scale, Hamilton depression rating scale and Clinical global impression scale. Results after rTMS sessions revealed the following: Active rTMS on the SMA, the left OFC and right DLPFC was associated with marked improvement in YBOCS, Hamilton anxiety rating scale, Hamilton Depression rating scale and clinical global impression scale. The most significant improvement in Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive scale was obtained when the brain target was the SMA. The most significant improvement in anxiety rating scale and depression ratingscale was obtained when the brain target was the left OFC. Sham group didnt have significant improvement through the study. Conclusions: We can thus conclude that low frequency rTMS is significantly effective as an adjunctive treatment for resistant OCD and that the SMA is the most effective brain target.

Osteoporosis is a global health and economic burden. It is a major chronic health condition that affects women more than men and it is incurable disease. Postmenopausal women are among those at greatest risk of osteoporosis, but any one of either gender or any race can develop this disease. Effective disease management ultimately lies in the hands of the individual patient, who must take responsibility for key health behaviors related to bone health. One behavior modification strategy that has proven effective to osteoporosis is self-management. The self-management program for osteoporosis, choices for better bone health, helps to educate people about the disease and to promote behavioral strategies for maximizing bone health. Telenursing bridges the access gap to specialized osteoporosis care in remote areas. Improving coordination of investigations, access to allied health members, and future initiatives may improve morbidity and mortality related to osteoporosis in this population. Mobile health (m-Health) interventions hold promise to effect engagement in health behavior change related to calcium and vitamin D intake, balance, core and leg strength, and physical activity.

Background For centuries, physicians have observed a temporal relation between the occurrence of female-specific reproductive events and the symptoms of illness that traditionally have been classified as "mental". Objectives: study of phenomenology of postpartum psychosis. Methods: 60 female patients with postpartum psychosis during the first four weeks after delivery (patients group) and 30 female patents within the first four weeks after delivery not suffering any psychiatric disorders (Control group). The two groups were subjected to clinical psychiatric assessment using structured psychiatric interview of DSM -V, BPRS, HDRS and EPDS. Results: Postpartum psychosis was more in younger females than older and in primipara than multipara. The onset of symptoms of postpartum psychosis was more common in first week after delivery (mean 6.11 days), sleep disturbance, irritability and hypomanic symptoms are the most early symptoms of postpartum psychosis followed by anxiety, confusion and somatic complain. Mood congruent psychotic feature significantly more than mood non-congruent psychotic feature. Conclusion: postpartum psychosis is more common in younger and primipara females with onset of symptoms in first in first week after delivery. Sleep disturbance, irritability and hypomanic symptoms are the earliest symptoms of postpartum psychosis

Background:Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is one of the causes of maternal morbidity and mortality. During pregnancy, and after caesarian section surgery the risk of DVT increases by five-ten times than the other time. It can be prevented through practising of calf muscle pump exercise and following preventive measures as early ambulation.The purpose of the study:was to evaluatethe effect of calf muscle pump exercise and preventive measures on the prevention of deep vein thrombosis (DVT)and its manifestationsamong a postpartum cesarean section. Method: A quasi-experimental design was used to fulfil the purpose of the study. Sample: A purposive sample of(200)post-partum women after cesarean section (study and control groups) wererecruited. Setting:The study was carried out atante-natal and post-natal wards of Menoufia University HospitalatShebin El-Kom city at Menoufia Governorate, Egypt.Instruments: Five instrumentswere used by the researchers; (1) An interviewing questionnaire;(2) Author DVT risk assessment scale;(3) Women’s knowledge assessment questionnaire;(4) Calf muscle pump exercise and preventive measures questionnaire, and (5)DVTand its manifestations questionnaire.Results:The mean age of the control and thestudygroups were (25.16±5.41) and (25.59 ± 5.92) years old respectively.There were highly statistically significant differencesbetween the study and the control groups regarding the level of knowledge, calf muscle pump exercise, preventive measures after the intervention (P

Trauma injury is the leading cause of mortality and hospitalization worldwide and the leading cause of potential years of productive life lost. Hypercatabolism after trauma may lead to acute protein malnutrition that ultimately results in multiple organ failure. Therefore, nutritional support is an essential component of the care of critical trauma patients for optimizing outcomes. Evidence-based practice improves the quality of care through patient-centered care, the utilization of patient resources, provider resources and experiences, current research and scientific information. The main objective; of this study was to assess and evaluate the effect of evidence-based enteral nutrition (EN) protocol on complications prevention among trauma patients. The research hypothesis; evidence-based enteral nutrition protocol will prevent complications among trauma patients. The study subjects consisted of 50 adult patients diagnosed with trauma and divided equally into two groups; control group who received the routine hospital nutrition and study group who received evidence-based enteral nutrition protocol at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) El-Minia University Hospital. The tools of data collection were; 1) Assessment sheet, it includes two parts, 1st part included socio-demographic data of the patient. 2nd part included five items that cover medical data, 2) Evidence-based enteral nutrition protocol, and 3) Evaluation sheet, it includes two parts, 1st part included the laboratory investigations. 2nd part covers the vital signs. Results: This study revealed that the majority of the control group less than thirty years old compared to study group equal or more than forty years old. There are statistically significant differences regarding mouth condition, severe infection, and nutritional assessment, among study and control groups. The result also revealed that the highest percent regarding the time of start enteral feeding and body positioning were among the study group. Conclusion: Evidence-based enteral nutrition protocol had significantly prevention of complications among trauma patients. Recommendation: Hospital should be following evidence-based enteral nutrition protocol to prevent complications among trauma patients at intensive care unit.

Based on the broad clinical utility of the immunosuppressant mycophenolic acid (MPA), this article aims to intensify the biosynthetic potential of Penicillium roqueforti for more effective hyperproduction of the drug. Several mutants were generated from irradiation mutagenesis and screened. Two strains (GM1013 and GM1093) presented an elevated MPA productivity with significant yield constancy over 10 subsequent generations. By investigating the effect of some phosphorous sources and mineral salts on MPA production by the two mutants, KH

Background: Bronchiolitis is a common lower respiratory tract infection in infants. Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) may be a useful biomarker to assist its severityAim of current study was to study the efficacy of LDH in both nasal secretions (NW-LDH) and serum (S-LDH) as a useful biochemical indicator of bronchiolitis severity .Subject and Methods: The present study was conducted on 96 infant with bronchiolitis ( < 24 months old ) presenting to pediatric department of Al-ahrar and Ahmed Maher Teaching Hospital. during the period from November 2018 to March 2019. Patients were subjected to history taking, clinical examination general and systemic, investigations including blood gases &CRP, chest X –ray if necessary, total LDH activity in both nasal secretions and serum. Results: In bronchiolitis, percentage of male was higher than female (65.6%, 34.4 %), with a mean ±SD of age 8.25±2.61 months, percentage of mild , moderate and severe cases were 36 (37.5%) , 44(45.8 %) ,16 (16.7%) respectively. No significant difference in serum LDH(S-LDH) between mild cases " not require admission " moderate "require hospital admission " or severe cases "require PICO admission (F:1.46 P: 0.237) while there was significant difference in nasal wash LDH (NW-LDH) among different grades of severity (F: 70.85 ,P:0.001) The significant predictors for severity of bronchiolitis were NW-LDH , younger age , longer hospital stay ,. Conclusion: NW-LDH is a biochemical Predictor of bronchiolitis severity , hospital ,PICO admission than S-LDH if demographic variable and viral etiology are taken in consideration